Halaman

Social Items

Menu Items

So, Boris Johnson has finally achieved his lifetime ambition and made it to Number 10. "The end of the beginning" as his hero, Winston Churchill, once said. Or could it possibly be the other way around?

Brexit is now in full-throttle Cronus mode and has clearly demonstrated that the truth is irrelevant when you're chained to an antiquated and highly flawed ideology; the good old days when the sun never set on the British Empire. If devouring its own children in order to maintain the status quo is what it takes, then so be it.

Former US president Bill Clinton summed it up perfectly to RTE's Tommie Gorman in June. Expressing his concerns about those at the vanguard portraying the pursuit of a hard Brexit as a means of "liberating the United Kingdom" Clinton warned they may be:

… consigning one of the world's greatest nations in human history to a smaller role just so that people who have historically been in control can stay there.

As much as we like to tut-tut at Boris, Rees-Mogg, Gove et al pining for a simpler time when Paddy knew his place, with regard to blind devotion to an archaic creed are we really in a position to cast the first stone?

Take, for example, the GAA; arguably the final bastion in Irish society but an organization whose stubborn resistance to change rivals that of the Vatican. If the top table is unwilling to discuss a recent suggestion from Jarlath Burns (touted by many as a potential Uachtaran CLG) in relation to removing anthems and flags from GAA events in an attempt to welcome those of a different persuasion, are they (and thus by default, we) not handcuffed to an equally outdated doctrine also?

What flew in 1884 doesn't necessarily fly in 2019. What was written during a time of war doesn’t necessarily apply during a time of peace. All philosophies have a sell-by date. I believe this is what hurling pundit Donal Og Cusack was driving at with his " … last remnants of British culture on these islands …" comment made during a recent post-match analysis in which he defended coaches criticized for exploring alternative tactics.

For many the GAA is about identity; for others it's simply chasing a ball around a field. I'd suspect the silent majority fall somewhere in between. Of course the GAA takes on different meanings depending on geography and I fully appreciate that carrying a hurley in Ballymena isn't the same as carrying a hurley in Ballyhaunis. Placing less emphasis on historical and cultural aspects may be anathema to some; it was to me until recently. But I believe it's time for what former Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh footballer John McEntee described in his Irish News column as 'uncomfortable conversations'.

This thinking will no doubt meet with fierce resistance in some quarters but our rich culture, one which transcends burning tyres and pallets, isn't jeopardized one iota by holding such discussions.

One would think this is a more pressing matter for GAA president John Horan than introducing a ridiculous and totally unnecessary back-pass rule.

⏭ Paul Kelly is a Tuam based writer.

GAA & Brexit

So, Boris Johnson has finally achieved his lifetime ambition and made it to Number 10. "The end of the beginning" as his hero, Winston Churchill, once said. Or could it possibly be the other way around?

Brexit is now in full-throttle Cronus mode and has clearly demonstrated that the truth is irrelevant when you're chained to an antiquated and highly flawed ideology; the good old days when the sun never set on the British Empire. If devouring its own children in order to maintain the status quo is what it takes, then so be it.

Former US president Bill Clinton summed it up perfectly to RTE's Tommie Gorman in June. Expressing his concerns about those at the vanguard portraying the pursuit of a hard Brexit as a means of "liberating the United Kingdom" Clinton warned they may be:

… consigning one of the world's greatest nations in human history to a smaller role just so that people who have historically been in control can stay there.

As much as we like to tut-tut at Boris, Rees-Mogg, Gove et al pining for a simpler time when Paddy knew his place, with regard to blind devotion to an archaic creed are we really in a position to cast the first stone?

Take, for example, the GAA; arguably the final bastion in Irish society but an organization whose stubborn resistance to change rivals that of the Vatican. If the top table is unwilling to discuss a recent suggestion from Jarlath Burns (touted by many as a potential Uachtaran CLG) in relation to removing anthems and flags from GAA events in an attempt to welcome those of a different persuasion, are they (and thus by default, we) not handcuffed to an equally outdated doctrine also?

What flew in 1884 doesn't necessarily fly in 2019. What was written during a time of war doesn’t necessarily apply during a time of peace. All philosophies have a sell-by date. I believe this is what hurling pundit Donal Og Cusack was driving at with his " … last remnants of British culture on these islands …" comment made during a recent post-match analysis in which he defended coaches criticized for exploring alternative tactics.

For many the GAA is about identity; for others it's simply chasing a ball around a field. I'd suspect the silent majority fall somewhere in between. Of course the GAA takes on different meanings depending on geography and I fully appreciate that carrying a hurley in Ballymena isn't the same as carrying a hurley in Ballyhaunis. Placing less emphasis on historical and cultural aspects may be anathema to some; it was to me until recently. But I believe it's time for what former Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh footballer John McEntee described in his Irish News column as 'uncomfortable conversations'.

This thinking will no doubt meet with fierce resistance in some quarters but our rich culture, one which transcends burning tyres and pallets, isn't jeopardized one iota by holding such discussions.

One would think this is a more pressing matter for GAA president John Horan than introducing a ridiculous and totally unnecessary back-pass rule.

Arlene at the Ulster final in Clones 2018?Peter Robinson at the McKenna Cup final in 2012?

I accept that currently its culturally too alien for many PUL's to contemplate supporting GAA but when we have a man of Asian descent excelling at senior county hurling who knows what's possible in the future?

Of course there's also the disgraceful events that happened over a decade ago in Fermanagh where young Darren Graham was forced to walk away from the sport after experiencing continual sectarian jibes both on and off the pitch. Darren had played GAA despite that his father and two of his uncles were UDR men and lost their lives at the hands of the IRA.

whereas I personally wouldn't wish to censor such conversations this kite just isn't going to fly, not going to fly for a long time yet. For better or for worse, the GAA is very much about identity. For the vast, vast majority its much more than a sporting organisation, particularly so in Ulster.With all the uncertainty around Brexit, Central Council will be loathe to touch anything so constitutionally fundamental to the organisation and which is potentially so divisive. Can't see any motion concerning these issues coming before congress in the immediate or medium term.

It remains to be seen how a hard border (if it comes) affects the GAA vis a vis checkpoints. Even at its most innocuous, UDR checkpoints delaying Ulster club teams travelling over the border for matches caused a lot of bittnerness.

I wouldn't pay any credence to what Arlene says or does. She is already on record saying she will never live in a United Ireland. So she has no qualms in turning her back on the working class she claims to represent..She can afford it, they can't. Robinson on the other hand always appeared more principled. Didn't agree with most of them and the Iris scandal, Kinda felt sorry for the man.First his wife thinks conversion therapy works and a few hours later the world finds out she blew some young turk and paid £50,000+ for it. Wasn't a great deal he got plus he admitted the day he could see a UI. My take is Robinson at least when he attended the Dr McKenna Cup between Derry and Tyrone in Armagh, I think he was genuine, attended for the right reasons.. And by all accounts had no complaints..

The border, whether they put watch towers up or not it wont really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. This is 2019..And as this report in the News Letter says there is still £50 million worth security cams etc dotted about the place..All they have to do is push a few buttons and direct them in whatever direction they want. Also means the infrastructure is already in place for whoever to watch everything from the Brexit fall out, smuggling..a border campaign MK2...

Smuggling is not only in grained in every Irish man, it is a way of life in South Armagh, Tyrone, Derry etc. A new Border MK2 or Brexit will never have any affect on smuggling (it might actually make things more lucrative for the smugglers).

After today all Bojo has done is brought the date for a border poll closer than people think..Short version is, around the time Brexit probably will kick in, Patrick Corrigan's report on RHI will be released. And then Bojo will call a General Election and the DUP and Sinn Fein will go back to the farmers and who ever else got screwed over with RHI asking for money to fund their election. And I have a feeling the farmers will vote in a border poll with their pockets for a UI ( or enough to a majority). Example, A farmer in Derry sees his friend across a field in Donegal getting a brown envelope from Europe while DUP/SF are knocking his his door with a bucket marked “silent collection”.

All along the coast-line small fishing villages have been decimated, Belfast Telegraph .. Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie.. Once I change the names of the villages to any working class area anyone cares to mention, seems no one got a great deal (as some farmers will soon find out) since the signing of the GFA.

Now if the French go a head with a blockade of Calais, does Bojo send in the Navy to help the fishermen through the blockade? (from Express Aug 2019) …..FRENCH fisherman are threatening to grind cross-Channel traffic to a standstill if Boris Johnson blocks EU vessels from British waters after a no deal Brexit., another 'Cod war looming?'...(tbc)

And as The Scotsman said in 2017 about Rockall ........Brexit could reignite an age-old controversy over ownership of an isolated Atlantic islet off the Donegal coast. Rockall is under 300 miles from Scotland and Ireland’s western extremities. The pudding-shaped remnant of an extinct volcano was the subject of Irish rebel ballads and diplomatic tussles over the surrounding fisheries and oil-rich sea bed......What happens if Irish fishing trawlers go to Rockall and the British refuse to let them in some sort of mini European trade war? We know how the French fishermen are threatening to play things and Irish and British fishermen saying “Fcuk the EU, our fishing quotas, lively hoods etc were better before 1973..”.....Farmers in the six counties (lots off) wanting to stay in the EU for the brown envelope....

yes, there are many possible outcomes to Bojo's attempts at waving the rules. However, in the end of the day the most likely scenario will be one where the forces of order triumph over those of chaos. Though the disrupters have significant mass, I predict the centre is essentially going hold.

Steve,

kids ought not be denied opportunities to develop antifragility. Are we not better prepare the child for the road, than vain attempts at preparing the road for the child?

Donate

Anthony McIntyre

Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.